{"id":1812,"date":"2026-03-01T16:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T16:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/?p=1812"},"modified":"2026-03-01T16:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T16:30:09","slug":"alex-ealas-enormous-popularity-compared-to-taylor-swift-by-leading-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/?p=1812","title":{"rendered":"Alex Eala\u2019s enormous popularity compared to Taylor Swift by leading voice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alex Eala<\/a> stunning popularity means she could already be considered to be a leading star in the game, with Sky Sports Tennis presenter Gigi Salmon comparing her star status to that of Taylor Swift.<\/p>\n

Eala has yet to win a WTA Tour event and is currently ranked at No 31, but her star power has been building since her memorable run to the Miami Open semi-finals last March.<\/p>\n

Her fans back in her Philippines homeland have helped to make Eala one of the most popular players in women\u2019s tennis, with the crowds flocking to her matches and practice sessions during last month\u2019s tournaments in Australia highlighting her status.<\/p>\n

Now Sky Sports lead presented Salmon has given her verdict on what Eala could achieve, as she spoke to at a Sky Sports Tennis event in London.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say, in terms of her appeal, the crowds that follow her, she might already be the biggest star,\u201d said Salmon.<\/p>\n

More Tennis News<\/h2>\n

\u2018Alex Eala must be protected \u2013 she\u2019s like Michael Jordan in the Philippines\u2019, warns tennis great<\/a><\/p>\n

Former world No 1 reveals how Alex Eala makes opponents \u2018very uncomfortable\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cCoco Gauff<\/a> said after one of her matches recently that she was really sorry for holding up a match with Alex and promise the fans that she would be out soon. Players are already saying, which they used to say with Roger Federer<\/a>, I know you didn\u2019t come to support me, but thank you very much.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember Miami last year. I spoke to her a few times on that run through to the semi-final and the clouds were phenomenal. \u2029And this year in the Middle East, it\u2019s been sensational.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Dubai, it was a like a pop concert. It was like a Taylor Swift was playing. People were screaming and maybe that can become a burden at some point, but I like the fact that at the moment, she just seems to be flourishing. She thanked them all and she\u2019s a superstar. I just think she\u2019s got everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eala was comprehensively beaten in her match against Gauff in Dubai and the question must be whether she can lift her game to the next level and challenge the true greats to the game.<\/p>\n

At the age of 20, she has time on her side to develop her physicality and her presence on court, with Salmon excited to see where she can go in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe hits a big ball,\u201d she added. \u201cShe\u2019s training for Rough Nadal Academy, we know she\u2019s done it for a few years, but I think she can go far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eala spoke to Tennis365 in an exclusive interview last year and she confirmed her fanbase are inspiring her to reach for the stars in the women\u2019s game after her memorable run in Miami last year, which included a famous win against Iga Swiatek.<\/p>\n

\"Sky\n

Sky Sports Tennis host Gigi Salmon<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Sponsors and media have been clamouring to work with one of the rising stars of the women\u2019s game, in a story that some observers have compared to that of Emma Raducanu after her 2021 US Open win, yet Eala insists she will not allow the hype around her to distract from what she needs to do to reach the top.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I have done a good job and my team have done a good job of dealing with everything that happened after Miami,\u201d said Eala, speaking exclusively to Tennis365.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many things changed and my perspective has changed since Miami, but my day-to-day life is the same. I have the same work ethic and the same attention to detail.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened in Miami was definitely a big surprise for me. It\u2019s difficult because I try not to look at it as a big picture thing, as that tournament progressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t even look at the draw. I just went match by match because you don\u2019t know how far you are going to get and every round there was another big obstacle.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor sure, it gave me a lot of confidence to know that my level is there to play against the top players, but I know there is a lot more for me to do before i can be there consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Eala went on to suggest her family are the most important people in her life and they keep her grounded as the tennis spotlight falls on her once again at Wimbledon this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am lucky that my family played such a big role in my career and they have been so important for me so far,\u201d she told us.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey built the structure for me. They built the path I walked on. That was the start I needed to start my career.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, family is such a crucial part of who I am and from where I come from, we are so family-oriented.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Eala is relishing the chance to return to grass courts in an English summer that will include her debut in the main draw at Wimbledon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always excited to go back on grass. It\u2019s a very unique experience,\u201d she added. \u201cI haven\u2019t played enough on it to form a solid opinion on the surface, but I definitely enjoy it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not have many grass courts in the Philippines. I probably only played on grass when I was hitting the ball around in a back yard!\u201d<\/p>\n

READ NEXT: Alexandra Eala makes honest confession as she compares herself to Iga Swiatek<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Watch the WTA 1000 tournaments Indian Wells and Miami live on Sky Sports Tennis in the UK and Ireland.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The post Alex Eala\u2019s enormous popularity compared to Taylor Swift by leading voice<\/a> appeared first on Tennis365<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alex Eala stunning popularity means she could already be considered to be a leading star in the game, with Sky Sports Tennis presenter Gigi Salmon comparing her star status to that of Taylor Swift. Eala has yet to win a WTA Tour event and is currently ranked at No 31, but her star power has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}